Top 10 Crypto Tycoons

.... with net crypto worths ranging from $700 million to $8 billion

Top 10 Crypto Tycoons

A Forbes study conducted earlier this year ranked the persons with the largest crypto wealth. These ‘crypto tycoons‘ have made their fortunes by entering early and/or investing in the cryptocurrency space. Here’s an introductory look at 10 of the wealthiest in the crypto space and a brief look into their fruitful engagements within the world of crypto.

1. Chris Larsen

With an estimated crypto net worth of $7.5-$8 billion, Chris Larsen tops the list of crypto tycoons. Larsen co-founded Ripple in 2012. Back then, it was called Opencoin. He is currently the executive chairman and former CEO of Ripple. Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system, currency exchange and remittance network which facilitates international payments for banks using blockchain technology. Also called the XRP Ledger, Ripple is built upon a distributed open source Internet protocol, consensus ledger and the decentralized native cryptocurrency known as XRP. According to Forbes, Larsen owns 5.2 billion XRP.

2. Joseph Lubin

Joseph Lubin, founder of ConsenSys and co-founder of the blockchain platform Ethereum, is next on the list of crypto tycoons. His net worth lies between $1 billion and $5 billion. Lubin founded ConsenSys in early 2015 as a software foundry to develop decentralized software services and applications that operate on the Ethereum blockchain. As of July 2018, the company had more than 900 employees and 48 spokes. Ethereum, as is well-known, is an open-source, public, blockchain-based distributed computing platform and operating system featuring smart contract functionality.

3. Changpeng Zhao

The CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.com, Changpeng Zhao (aka “CZ”), stands 3rd in this crypto rich list. With an estimated crypto net worth of $1.1 to $2 billion, Zhao is the creator of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. With over 6 million users, Binance has its operations spread over 3 countries to stay ahead of regulatory issues that often pose a risk to the crypto business. The Binance platform is currently deployed on over 30 exchanges and is capable of processing 1,400,000 orders per second.

4. Cameron & Tyler Winklevoss

With an estimated crypto net worth of $900 million to $1.1 billion, the Winklevoss twins rank 4th in terms of crypto wealth. Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss founded Winklevoss Capital to invest in multiple asset classes with an emphasis on providing seed funding and infrastructure to early-stage startups. In 2012, they bought Bitcoin, back when just a few people were into it. In 2015, they launched a Bitcoin exchange, Gemini. Gemini now processes over $300 million in transaction value on a daily basis. They recently announced the launch of the world’s first regulated stable coin, the Gemini dollar (GUSD).

5. Matthew Mellon

Billionaire banking heir and cryptocurrency investor Matthew Mellon ranks 5th in the list of crypto tycoons. His crypto wealth is estimated at $900 million – $1 billion. He is one of the early investors in XRP, Ripple’s native asset. His saw his $2 million investment in XRP turn into billions. Unfortunately, this pro-America, pro-business and pro-bank businessman died in April 2018.

6. Brian Armstrong

Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, has a reported crypto net worth of $900 million – $1 billion. In 2012, he founded the digital currency exchange, which went on to become the leading secure online platform for buying, selling, transferring, and storing digital currency. Coinbase brokers exchanges of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic and Litecoin with fiat currencies in around 32 countries, and Bitcoin transactions and storage in 190 countries worldwide.

7. Matthew Roszak

Another strong player in the crypto wealth ranking is cryptocurrency entrepreneur, Matthew Roszak. Roszak is the founder of Tally Capital, a private investment firm focused on blockchain-enabled technology. He is also the co-founder and chairman of Bloq, a leading blockchain technology company. He also serves as the chairman of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the world’s largest trade association representing the blockchain industry. Roszak learned about Bitcoin in 2011 and also participated in the first Initial Coin Offerings. He is known for giving Richard Branson and Bill Clinton their first Bitcoins. Roszak’s crypto net worth is estimated at somewhere between $900 million – $1 billion.

8. Anthony Di Iorio

With an estimated crypto net worth of $750 million – $1 billion, Anthony Di Iorio ranks 8th among crypto tycoons. Di Iorio is the co-founder of the blockchain platform Ethereum and the founder of Jaxx and Decentral. Over the years he has accumulated his fortune by investing in multiple crypto-assets. Di Iorio gets into his crypto investments early, and levels off after the asset grows, consequently pouring his gains into another crypto asset.

9. Brock Pierce

Brock Pierce, chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, has an estimated crypto net wealth of $700 million – $1 billion. He also serves as an advisor to Block.one. Pierce has been a heavy investor in the Ethereum platform, Mastercoin, and Coinbase. Pierce is also known to have launched the EOS cryptocurrency via Block.one.

10. Michael Novogratz

Ranking 10th in the list of the wealthiest in the cryptocurrency space is the CEO of Galaxy Digital – Michael Novogratz. His estimated crypto net worth, earlier this year, was estimated to be between $700 million and $1 billion. In 2013, Novogratz stepped aside from his position as the hedge fund manager at Fortress Investment Group, to devote his time and money into the crypto space. He went onto form Galaxy Digital, a full service, digital assets merchant bank.